Professor at Cranfield University, UK. Martin Christopher, “In the future competition between institutions; It will be among the SUPPLY CHAINS they use, not in the products they produce or in the countries where these products are consumed.” He emphasized the importance of the Supply Chain in a very effective way. Again, New and Payne, in 1995, defined the concept of Supply Chain Management as the unification of each element of the production and supply processes in the process from the acquisition of raw materials to the delivery of the manufactured product to the end user, and emphasized the importance of the supply chain. Those who define the concept of Supply Chain as the unification of each element of the production and supply processes in the process from the acquisition of the raw material to the delivery of the produced product to the end user, have very clearly summarized both the meaning of the supply chain and its importance in our lives.
We should consider that Smart Logistics Technologies are about to have a say in logistics, which has a very important share in Supply Chain management. It is now extremely easy and possible to know how high technologies are available, all inventory of goods, systems that can track where the goods are in the world, how many times that product is touched, whether that product is sold quickly or not. Years ago, when we were told that there would be such innovations, we used to say dear. However, nowadays, chatbot (artificial intelligence), smart and most importantly learning robots are so dominant that everyone needs to follow and learn very well what has changed in a dynamic and innovative sector such as logistics.
In our everyday usage and in a competitive sense, the word “value” is expressed as the amount customers are willing to pay for the products or services a company produces, and is usually measured in terms of total turnover. Therefore, since there is a value produced for the customer, it becomes necessary that this price be more than the cost incurred for the production in question. As a result, the profit figure emerges. As value-creating activities; Activities such as production, marketing and distribution, especially design, can be listed. These activities are described as the main activities in today’s literature, and at the same time, the sale of the product, its delivery to the customer and after-sales activities are also evaluated within the same scope. When we look at the detailed examinations, we see that “Main Activities” are divided into five main activity categories. These;
Inbound Logistics
Production (Operations)
Outbound Logistics
Marketing and Sales
After Sales (Service) activities.
Support activities are activities that support the production of products and services, provide purchased inputs, human resources, and necessary technology. Such activities may be general activities for the entire organization or may be related to certain core activities. Core activities and support activities are interrelated activities.
The strong link between the Supply Chain and the value chain, which means the entire physical and information flow for businesses, including the stages of the commercial product, which starts with the raw material and continues with its transformation into the product, to the customer and consumption by the end user, is much more clear after examining these two definitions. clearly emerges. In other words, the main activities, which are considered as the “Value Chain” and which are the lifeblood of an enterprise, include the “Supply Chain” as a whole. Although Supply Chain Management is considered not to cover production and sales; As soon as we indicate that the products are positioned to provide the production and delivery of the products to the customer at the right time and in the most suitable conditions, we can clearly perceive that the Value Chain is at the very center of it.
For a business of the Supply Chain; When we consider that it encompasses the whole of approaches and methods used for the effective integration of sellers, manufacturers, wholesalers or suppliers, it is not difficult to see that this concept means the lifeblood of institutions. Every company is a part of a supply chain and today competition is between these chains.
When we look at it in general terms, we remind that the transition to Supply Chain Management has been achieved due to reasons such as the increase in the level of outsourcing, the increase in transportation costs, the need to improve transactions, competitive pressure, the increase in the importance of electronic commerce and the control of inventory. I conclude my words by pointing out that this is the concept that businesses should focus on in order to reach a high level of quality.